This article is about the desert in the Arabian Peninsula. For the Red Sea Hills/Arabian Desert in Northeast Africa, seeEastern Desert. For the desert in Syria, Jordan and northern Saudi Arabia, seeSyrian Desert.
Gazelles,oryx,sand cats, andspiny-tailed lizards are just some of the desert-adapted species that survive in this extreme environment, which features everything from red dunes to deadlyquicksand. The climate is mostly dry (the major part receives around 100 mm (3.9 in) of rain per year, but some very rare places receive as little as 50 mm), and temperatures oscillate between very high heat and seasonal night time freezes. It is part of thedeserts and xeric shrublandsbiome and lie inbiogeographical realms of thePalearctic (northern part) andAfrotropical (southern part).
TheRub' al-Khali desert is asedimentary basin stretching along a south-west to north-east axis across the Arabian Shelf.[5] At an altitude of 1,000 metres (3,300 ft), rock landscapes yield to the Rub' al-Khali, a vast stretch of sand whose extreme southern point crosses the center of Yemen. The sand overlies gravel or gypsum plains and the dunes reach maximum heights of up to 250 m (820 ft). The sands are predominantly silicates, composed of 80 to 90% quartz and the remainder feldspar, whose iron oxide-coated grains color the sands orange, purple, and red.
A corridor of sandy terrain known as theAd-Dahna desert connects theAn-Nafud desert (65,000 km2 or 40,389 square miles) in the north of Saudi Arabia to the Rub' al-Khali in the south-east.[citation needed] TheTuwaiq escarpment is an 800 km (500 mi) arc that includes limestone cliffs, plateaus, and canyons.[citation needed] There are brackish salt flats, including thequicksands ofUmm al Samim.[2] TheSharqiya Sands, formerly known as Wahiba Sands of Oman are an isolated sand sea bordering the eastcoast.[6][7]
The Arabian Desert has asubtropical,hot desert climate, similar to the climate of theSahara Desert (the world's largest hot desert). The Arabian Desert is actually an extension of the Sahara Desert over the Arabian peninsula.
The climate is mainly dry. Most areas get around 100 mm (3.9 in) of rain per year. Unlike the Sahara Desert—more than half of which ishyperarid (having rainfall of less than 50 mm (2.0 in) per year)—the Arabian Desert has only a few hyperarid areas. These rare driest areas may get only 30 to 40 mm (1.6 in) of rain per year.
The Arabian Desert’ssunshine duration index is very high by global standards: between 2,900 hours (66.2% of daylight hours) and 3,600 hours (82.1% of daylight hours), but typically around 3,400 hours (77.6% of daylight hours). Thus clear-sky conditions with plenty of sunshine prevail over the region throughout the year, and cloudy periods are infrequent. Visibility at ground level is relatively low, despite the brightness of the sun and moon, because of dust andhumidity.
Temperatures remain high year round. In the summer, in low-lying areas, average high temperatures are generally over 40 °C (104 °F). In extremely low-lying areas, especially along the Persian Gulf (near sea level), summer temperatures can reach 48 °C (118 °F). Average low temperatures in summer are typically over 20 °C (68 °F) and in the south can sometimes exceed 30 °C (86 °F). Record high temperatures above 50 °C (122 °F) have been reached in many areas of the desert, partly because its overall elevation is relatively low.[citation needed]
The area is home to several different cultures, languages, and peoples, withIslam as the predominant faith. The major ethnic group in the region is theArabs, whose primary language isArabic.
In the center of the desert liesRiyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, with more than 7 million inhabitants.[11] Other large cities, such asDubai,Abu Dhabi, orKuwait City, lie on the coast of thePersian Gulf.
Threats to the ecoregion include overgrazing by livestock and feral camels and goats, wildlifepoaching, and damage to vegetation by off-road driving.[2]
Saudi Arabia has established a system of reserves overseen by the National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development (NCWCD).[2]
Harrat al-Harrah Reserve (12,150 km2), established in 1987, is on the border with Jordan and Iraq, and protects a portion of the stony basalticHarrat al-Sham desert. The reserve includes rough terrain of black basaltic boulders and extinct volcanic cones from the middle Miocene. It provides habitat to over 250 species of plants, 50 species of birds, and 22 mammal species.[2]
'Uruq Bani Ma'arid Reserve (12,000 km2) is on the western edge of the Rub’ al-Khali. Arabian oryx and sand gazelle were reintroduced to the reserve in 1995.
Ibex Reserve (200 km2) is south of Riyadh. It protects Nubian ibex and a reintroduced population of mountain gazelle.[2]
^abcHoekstra JM, Molnar JL, Jennings M, Revenga C, Spalding MD, Boucher TM, Robertson JC, Heibel TJ, Ellison K (2010) The Atlas of Global Conservation: Changes, Challenges, and Opportunities to Make a Difference (ed. Molnar JL). Berkeley: University of California Press.
^Harrison, D. L. (1968)."GenusAcinonyx Brookes, 1828"(PDF).The mammals of Arabia. Volume II: Carnivora, Artiodactyla, Hyracoidea. London: Ernest Benn Limited. pp. 308–313.
^Heptner, V. G.; Sludskii, A. A. (1992) [1972]."Lion".Mlekopitajuščie Sovetskogo Soiuza. Moskva: Vysšaia Škola [Mammals of the Soviet Union, Volume II, Part 2]. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution and the National Science Foundation. pp. 83–95.ISBN978-90-04-08876-4.
^UNEP-WCMC (2020). Protected Area Profile for United Arab Emirates from the World Database of Protected Areas, November 2020. Available at: www.protectedplanet.net
